Ferrari Raises Double Diffuser Issue Once Again

Double diffuser on the Ferrari F10

Ferrari have indeed been quite quick during the first test meeting of the off-season, in Valencia, but that doesn't mean the Italian technicians won't pay a great deal of attention to their championship rivals in the upcoming few weeks. In fact, the Scuderia's technical director Aldo Costa has already raised some issues regarding last year's controversial double diffuser rules.

According to the Ferrari technical, the aforementioned car part will again be subject to many rule interpretations prior to the start of the 2010 campaign, as all teams have fitted it to their cars differently. Since the FIA rulebook on double diffusers are still very grey, Costa said it will only be a matter of time until a new saga will burst on this topic.

“The FIA is keeping things in check and is answering every team with regards to the doubts and the realization of the double diffuser. Unfortunately, this rule book is open to many interpretations,” said the Ferrarista.

The first time these allegations appeared in the media were a few days before rivals McLaren Mercedes unveiled their MP4-25 for the 2010 season of F1. Back then, the British team's engineering director Paddy Lowe made it clear that his car's double diffuser is designed in compliance with the rules of the FIA, but admitted some teams might choose some “pretty extreme solutions” for it.

In Valencia, none of the 7 teams present at the Spanish track last week showed any out-of-this-world designs for the double diffuser. And all the championship's “big guns” were there to test their cars, except for Red Bull Racing. However, as the testing season unfolds, teams will debut new components on their cars, some of them featuring a whole different look as compared to their first test of the winter.